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The Ashes 2023

M

Mark Tooze

master brummie
Hi Folks; as the 2023 Ashes series is due to get underway this week at Edgbaston, I have dug out my set of negatives from the famous 1981 series (500-1 odds, Willis' 8-43 and of course Ian Botham!). I was fortunate to be present on that incredible day when Botham took 5-1 in 28 balls to win the 4th test and was one of the few (if only) people taking photographs from the City End. I'll post the photos over the next few nights (I have to cross reference them all to my original notes to work out which ones were wickets, etc), but as a taster try these ones of the best bowler I ever saw - the great Dennis Lillee. Lillee was a great sport, always playing along with the crowd (in one game I can remember him having a swig of someone's pint on a hot afternoon!). Although he was on "the other side" you had to admire greatness when you saw it!
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Here is Lillee (with trademark headband) in the middle of an over, enjoying what looked (at this stage) to be an Auzzie victory. Mike Gatting is probably wondering if he has enough padding in the correct places, and umpire Dickie Bird looks less than impressed with everything!1686724396625.png
 
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Nice pictures and memories. I used to love to attend the Test Matches at Edgbaston and I was luck enough to see some of the all time greats in action such as Colin Cowdrey, Tom Graveney, Alan Knott, Bob Willis, Beefy, Anderson, Broad, KP, Greg Chapple, Rodney Marsh, Lillie, Thomson, Border, Ponting, Gilchrist, McGrath, Johnson and Warney. I was playing myself on the Sunday of the 1981 match and remember listening to the TMS commentary on the boundary and cheering every wicket. Happy Days! :cool:
 
Ashes test at Edgbaston 1968 was Colin Cowdrey's100th test. I was there on the Saturday witnessing history beng made. I could well have been there in 1981.
Saw Bob Willis play for England - roaring in and scattering wickets. Converted my then boyfriend, later my husband, to a cricket fan :D
 
OK Janice - your wish is my command - lets start with the great Robert George Dylan Willis MBE - Warwickshire and England hero! All the following photos were taken in the 1981 Ashes test by the way, but on different days.

Here is a sequence of Bob bowling from the Pavilion End:-
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And here is one in colour:-
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There was a more frightening site of Bob coming in to bowl - and that was Bob coming out to bat! He had a willow the size of a small tree and if he made good contact with the ball no-one was safe! I think this was 1st innings when he made 13.
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Some terrific photos there Mark. Bob really did put everything into his bowling action didn't he? Some interesting shots of him with a bat in hand too (I don't think some of those strokes were quite out of the textbook ;)).
 
Would members please remember that this is a section for HISTORY of sport, not a gossip shop for current events
 
As we lost on a technicality this afternoon (Australia got more runs than we did - sadly now history!!!) - lets regress back to 1981 and look at some more photos from that (victorious!!!) series:-

First up - Auzzie bowler Rodney Hogg:-
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Next Peter Willey batting against Dennis Lillee:-
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Not sure on this one - the negative note say Gatting but it does not look like Gatting from the back - it may be John Emburey - Lillee and Marsh looking less than impressed:-
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This one IS Willey and Lillee - apparently a dropped caught and bowled chance that I snapped slightly too early!
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And finally - Australian spin bowler Ray Bright:-
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Willey and Lillee again - good defensive shot by the looks of it:-
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Now for Sir Ian Terence Botham - AKA Beefy - I only have a couple of Botham from this match but many more from other matches:-
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Here is Botham cutting Alderman for four:-
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Wicket keeper Bob Taylor has just been caught LBW by Terry Alderman for a second innings 8:-
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Now for the Australian second innings - remember they needed only 150 to win - John Dyson gets off to a good start clean bowled by Chris Old for just 1:-
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John Emburey took 2-40 with off spin in the 2nd innings:-
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Allan Border survives a close call:-
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Not sure on this one - think it is Australian captain Kim Hughes:-
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I think this is Graeme Wood - lbw B Old for 2 - if not its still a good photo with Taylor, Brearley and Old all in mid-air!!
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Allan Border survives an attempted short leg catch by Ian Botham:-
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Graham Yallop next - he survives this chance with Bob Taylor diving out of my camera lens:-
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But does not survive a short leg catch from Botham off Emburey for 30:-
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Allan Border is beaten outside the off stump by Willis:-
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He eventually went for 40 - caught Gatting bowled Emburey:-
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But of course the highlight of August 2nd 1981 was Botham's 5-1 in 28 balls. The link to the video is here:-


I have so far found photos of 3 of the 5 wickets - I'm sure I also have the rest:-
Here is Rod Marsh having his middle stump removed for 4:-
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Then Ray Bright lbw for 0 the very next ball - Richie Beneaud's commentary here of "He's out!!!" is memorable:-
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Finally Dennis Lillee ct Taylor b Botham for 3 - damn bad luck on my side here as I must have hit the very end of the film in the cassette so you loose Lillee in a light leak fog on the right hand edge - I need to see if I can "improve" this one:-
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Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

The 2023 Ashes match at Birmingham Edgbaston will go down in history as one of the great matches. If Moeen Ali's finger had only been fully
working ! Moeen of course is a local lad born in Birmingham.

Nowadays it’s great to see so many people of colour cheering on England.
 
A terrific test match that for most of it, England had looked like winning, until at the very last moment it was taken from our grasp. There will be questions concerning whether we should have declared on the first day (with Root at the crease and valuable runs there for the taking), whether Root should have danced down the wicket in his second innings (although it was his runs that made victory possible) and whether Stokes should have taken the new ball earlier yesterday, as well as what if's that include, what if Moeen's finger had been ok on the final day? what if one or two players that had got a start, had gone on to build a bigger score? what if Broad had not bowled a no ball, when Khawaja had been on his way back to the pavilion? and what if the umpires had taken the players off before we lost 2 wickets last night (see picture below)? No matter, this was two great teams giving their best and going toe to toe. The Aussies have the lead, but England have won the Ashes before after losing the last test and might yet do that again. Australian and British eyes were focused on Edgbaston over the past five days and both teams consider a test match in Birmingham, as a little bit "special" due in a large respect to the vociferous Eric Hollies Stand (second photo).

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I also have about 75 negatives I have not scanned yet from the 1985 Ashes test at Edgbaston, plus about 30 from a one-day international in 1980, plus some from Warwickshire v Australia in 1981 - I'll try to scan these in over the summer.
 
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